Meet Carly, player for the Guernsey Raiders Ladies. Carly was one of the first players in the Ladies team, and dedicated many years of her life to rugby, and even after having her son Xavi she still does, in many different ways.

Read her journey below, from playing to parenting to coaching, she does it all!

How did you find the return to rugby post having your little one? 
Xavi is now 8 and I’ve not play for roughly 6 years. I’d stayed really fit during my pregnancy (was still in the gym with the girls until gone 8 months) and my recovery after was quick. However, when I first returned to rugby after having him, I was plagued by injuries - perhaps due to the changes in my body or perhaps just bad luck but either way, those injuries frustrated my return. Ultimately, I made the decision following a change in the team to focus on my family and my career as rugby was causing me more pain than joy.

How do you find managing training and also being a mum? 
Funnily enough, my return to rugby has been hampered by injury (see a pattern) however I’m now a single mum with a very demanding job and my life is one massive compromise. I train (personal fitness) when my son has activities after school or first thing in the morning before he wakes up. I struggle to make rugby training because I have my son on one of the training nights and on the other, I often have to work. My life is a constant juggling act of striving to be the best mother I can be in the time I have my son, lead my team at work to be the best lawyer I can be and make the time to get back to the sport that once gave me such joy so I can rip it up on the pitch again!

If you could give one piece of advice to Mum's thinking about returning/joining to Rugby, what would that be? 
Accept that life is a compromise and you can’t please everyone, but that if you want to do it, then don’t make excuses and just do what makes you happy and gives you that release - if being on the pitch and making contact gives you a buzz, then it’s the best form personal welfare!

How has becoming/being a mum changed your perspective on the game?
Before Xav, rugby was my life and my team, my family. To be honest, my best friends are all my former teammates. We all stopped playing around the same time which in retrospect was a real shame as it would have been wonderful to have our kids grow up seeing us all playing on the pitch and then wanting to do the same themselves. Instead, I now coach my son’s team and love seeing his love for the sport develop as it did for me!

My perspective on rugby itself didn’t actually change after becoming a mum, it is now really important to me for Xav to see me playing and be a part of a sport that was such a big part of my life. The fact he loves to play and I can coach him into the future is the cherry on the top!